Bring New Ideas to New Business Situations

The 64 Million Dollar Man who put the nail in the coffin

As I told you last week… I am just about done reading a great book about the founding and rise of Netflix.

“Netfilxed, The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs.”

The author is Gina Keating.

Another idea worth sharing here to get you thinking.

The epic fall of Blockbuster really helped propel Netflix to the top of the video rental food chain.

But guess what…

Blockbuster actually had a shot.

And they gave Netflix a run for it.

They didn’t just lay down and die.

Well… not until the 64 Million Dollar Man came along.

This guy was responsible for stepping on the gas pedal of Blockbuster’s eventual bankruptcy.

It happened like this…

There was drama on Blockbuster’s board.

Up until this time… the Blockbuster CEO had been doing a pretty good job trying to navigate Blockbuster into the new reality of video rentals.

Blockbuster had a DVD by mail/in store rental combo that, at one time, had more members than Netflix.

Blockbuster was building out its online rental program and doing an OK job at it.

Then… The CEO was forced to resign.

Partly due to a disagreement with… Carl Icahn, the American businessman, activist shareholder and investor, who had a large stake in Blockbuster.

That’s when they brought on the 64 Million Dollar Man.

I am calling him The 64 Million Dollar Man because he was responsible for a major turn-around of the convenience store chain… 7-11.

He turned 7-11 around and delivered a ton of value to share-holders. He left with a parting bonus of 64 Million for his efforts. Not too bad. That and a fat hog will get you through a rough winter.

But guess what… “Baggage!”

He brought that retail baggage with him.
He cut funding to Blockbuster’s online efforts.

He brought back the infamous late fees that customers hated.

He put resources into redesigning Blockbuster stores in hopes the stores would become an entertainment destination.

He attempted to move the company into using its retail presence to sell electronics.

He even went as far as to make a bid for Circuit City, the big electronics retailer.

You may recall Circuit City eventually went under.

The take away…

This guy was bringing old thinking, old strategies and old ideas to a new world.

As you move forward in your business – use the wisdom and knowledge you have picked up along the way.

But apply that wisdom and knowledge to current and future realities.

Don’t be like the 64 Million Dollar Man. (at least not like his time at Blockbuster.)